TAIJICHO, Wakayama — This small town of 3,500 people
has undergone an uneasy transformation since its tradition of dolphin
hunting became the subject of the Academy Award-winning U.S.
documentary “The Cove.”
When this year’s hunting season began in September, a number of international activist groups, including the U.S.-based
Some activists have stayed on in a neighboring town, intending to monitor the entire hunting season.
Last Thursday morning, a row of about 10 fishing boats could be seen sailing toward
Once the dolphins had entered the bay, another boat
traveled across the 100 meter-wide mouth of the bay, dragging behind it
a net to prevent the dolphins’ escape.
These events — an example of oikomi ryo (drive fishing) — were being captured on video camera by activists on the beach.
Taijicho is the only place in the nation where this
method is used to hunt dolphins. Fishermen on a convoy of small ships
locate a pod of dolphins offshore, and drive them into the bay by
beating steel pipes with a hammer, producing a noise from which the
dolphins reflexively flee.
Later, the dolphins are sent to a meat processing facility.
Activist groups want the fishermen to stop such practices, considering them cruel.
The annual dolphin hunt usually begins in September. So far this year, fishermen have set out on only a handful of expeditions.
“To avoid trouble, we’ve reduced the number of
fishing occasions,” said a senior member of a local dolphin fishing
association. The
Shepherd, and other activists have been visiting the bay almost every
day to film the hunting. They have posted video recordings on the
Internet.
West said he plans to stay through December, with
other Sea Shepherd members coming and going, with the intention of
continuing to monitor the hunting until the end of the season.
In late September, nets in some holding pens for
captured dolphins were found to have been slashed. An activist group
other than Sea Shepherd claimed responsibility for the destruction.
“(The group) likely planned this act of harassment
to generate publicity for itself,” said a senior official of the
Wakayama prefectural police. The police are investigating the case.
On
between fishermen and activists — the first between the two
sides—failed to bring them closer together. The fishermen called for
their culture to be respected, while the activists argued the dolphin
hunting was inhumane.
The international attention that has come Taijicho’s
way since “The Cove” won the Academy Award for best documentary this
year has had a strong impact on the town.
One result of the increased recognition is that
stocks of frozen Taijicho dolphin meat have sold out, according to a
member of a local fishery cooperative.
Another fisherman in his 60s said, “(We’ve been) labeled as evil around the world.”
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(c) 2010, The Yomiuri Shimbun.
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